Obama takes one of the only credible Republican presidential contenders and sends him to China

Damn you Barack!

Source: Washington Post

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. (R) will be introduced Saturday as President Obama's choice as ambassador to China, a source familiar with the decision said tonight.

Huntsman, 48, had been mentioned this spring as a potential Republican contender for the White House in 2012, and Obama's former campaign manager recently suggested that he was a rising force in the GOP.

Several Salt Lake City media outlets reported tonight that Huntsman had accepted the offer to head the U.S. mission in Beijing, and that Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert would replace Huntsman as governor. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Huntsman was in Washington tonight, but that calls to his spokeswoman and various staffers were not returned.

Huntsman was elected in November to a second term as Utah's governor, drawing 70 percent of the vote. He served in the George W. Bush administration as deputy U.S. trade representative from 2001 to 2004 and, for President George H.W. Bush, was ambassador to Singapore from 1992 to 1994. He is an expert on China, and he speaks Mandarin Chinese fluently.

Huntsman has been getting political advice this year from national political consultants, helping to stoke rumors that Huntsman might be positioning himself for a run at Obama in 2012.

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Interesting. I wonder if he really had hopes of running in 2012 that he would take this position. He's relatively unknown now and being ambassador is usually a low profile job. Wouldn't he rather be in the US and be in the news bashing Obama at all times?